The Tsarina's Daughter - (Reading Group Gold) by Carolly Erickson (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. But she is not who she claims to be--the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra.

At the heart of the story is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia. When her younger brother is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania's world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death.

Review Quotes

"Suspenseful and detailed, the novel captures a dramatic moment in history and will sear you with sorrow for this doomed daughter of the last tsar." --People magazine

"A top-notch narrative ... Erickson creates an entirely convincing historical backdrop, and her tale of a family's fall from power and a country in transition is both romantic and gripping." --Publishers Weekly

"Erickson weaves historical details into this imaginative account of how Tatiana Romanov, the second of Nicholas and Alexandra's four daughters, escaped the Bolshevik assassins who killed Russia's royal family in 1918.... Despite knowing the real Tatiana's fate, readers will rejoice in the fictional version's survival. A sure winner." --Library Journal

"Erickson never lets harsh fact impede a good story . . . the suspense never flags . . . More entertainment than history, but all the better for it." --Kirkus Reviews

"Lovingly told, The Tsarina's Daughter is a story with a bittersweet ending, as real history sometimes is. Beautifully written, this is a terrific book to curl up with on a chilly autumn day." --Romance Reviews Today

"This historical novel is the romantic story of doomed Tatiana Romanov." --OK! magazine (4 of 5 stars)

"[C]lever and enchanting . . . [Erickson] has spun a sensitive and entirely believable story of the young woman's coming of age in the maelstrom of World War I and the ensuing collapse of the dynasty. It is a love story, to be sure, but what makes this book remarkable (and a compulsive read) is the author's superb understanding of the fascinating personalities of the Imperial Family and the Russian court. Highly recommended." --Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

About the Author

Distinguished historian Carolly Erickson is the author of Rival to the Queen, The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots, The First Elizabeth, The Hidden Life of Josephine, The Last Wife of Henry VIII, and many other prize-winning works of fiction and nonfiction. The Tsarina's Daughter won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction. She lives in Hawaii.